pitbulls

[Spicy_Bulldog]

Did I say that owners who don't spay/neuter are irresponsible?? I just said that spaying and neutering IS responsible, and I do feel that way, and I'm sorry if you don't agree but that's what I think.

And I also said that neutered males are LESS LIKELY to bite, not they won't completely, whereas intact males ARE MORE LIKELY to bite, but not that they will.

And I'm obviously not talking about responsible pet owners... sure, dog bites and attacks can happen even with the most responsible owners, but it is more likely to occur with IRRESPONSIBLE owners, and irresponsible owners are obviously not going to get their pet from a responsible source, so most likely their pits will be poorly bred.

Don't be so quick to assume what I'm saying is against you, in fact we're really on the same side of the fence on this. My previous post was referring to irresponsible owners, and if you aren't irresponsible then there is no reason to take offense to anything that I've said.

I wasn't taking offense, sorry I didn't mean it that way. I was just saying that if someone doesn't s/n doesn't make them irresponsible is what I meant.

I guess my questions is why is a dog who is intact more likely to bite?

I know you were not speaking in absolutes, but saying things like more or less likely is still saying that one has a tendency over the other and basically as it reads it going to be more likely to happen, I just don't think it is true in general. In certain situations, a dominant male with temperament disorder around a female in heat and child gets bit. A neutered male wouldn't be frustrated and trying to get the female to breed with him who keeps pushing him and see the kid as a threat and have a temperament issue that escalates. So I do believe dogs with certain temperament problems might be more inclined to bite in certain situations then those who are not. Males as a whole I don't think so. A stable dog with proper handling and training who is intact is not going to be more likely to bite you then one that is not. I've been bit and know people who have been bit/attacked by both intact and s/n animals. I have been bit by an intact Chow and a neutered Poodle.

I think you proved the point that dogs owned by irresponsible people are probably more likely to bite and less likely to be neutered. To me doesn't translate to intact males are more likely to bite, it just happens that more irresponsible people own intact males.

I know what you mean about irresponsible people and all, but I just wanted to make it clear (about some responsible owners have intact dogs) and didn't mean to cause controversy.

The only kind of attack people have to worry about from my intact males is being licked and rolled on.

[Jessika]

As far as being intact versus spayed/neutered and biting goes, it boils down to hormones, and hormones have a huge role in a dog's temperament and actions. Not to say that all intact dogs will react violently in the same situations, but it's just more likely. This goes for -any- dog and -any- animal, not just pits.

You don't have to convince me that responsible owners can have pets that aren't spayed and neutered, as I said I used to be one of those, and my dog never got into a fight, was never aggressive, only got loose while in heat once (when I wasn't home and a family member was keeping an eye on her), and she never got pregnant. So I know it is entirely possible. I don't judge responsible or irresponsible owners solely on whether or not their dogs are fixed, in fact I try not to judge at all.

Oh, also another side note, I know in similar situations dogs can react one way or the other whether they are altered or not, it just so happens that statistically altered male pit bulls have never been the cause of a single human death in the history of dog attacks/bites in either the US or Missouri (I believe in the US though), and altered dogs - especially males - aren't driven by hormones as much as an intact dog would. I do not have the source of that information since it was given at a presentation from a guest speaker, however I can try to obtain it if you'd like since I found it -very- interesting.

I will say though, every pitty I've met in person, altered or not, has been a huge love-bug!